Abraham Wivell

"Abraham Wivell's improved fire escape". An illustration in ''The Leisure Hour'' depicting Wivell's fire escape in action Abraham Wivell (1786 – 29 March 1849) was a British portrait painter, writer and pioneer of fire protection, credited with inventing the first effective fire escape system. After working as a hairdresser, Wivell established himself as a society portrait painter before concentrating his efforts on fire safety measures. Provided by Wikipedia